Sendai History, Traditional Culture Taught at Workshops; Attendees Get Hands-On Experience of City’s Roots

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:56 JST, September 11, 2024

SENDAI — Sendai’s history and traditional culture were taught through hands-on activities at an event held recently in the city.

The Sendai Waza Fesu event was organized by the city’s board of education and held at the Sendai Ryokusaikan hall on Aug. 24 and 25.

Visitors copied the patterns of excavated artifacts of the city from the Jomon period (around 10,000 B.C.-300 B.C.) and tiles from the ruins of Sendai Castle, by placing a blank sheet of paper on them and applying sumi ink to the paper. They also enjoyed kokeshi doll painting.

Among the attendees were children who had a go at the workshops while listening to instructions from the event’s staff.

“It was exciting to be able to touch the pottery. I am looking forward to my history class next year,” said Kuryu Ito, 11, a fifth-grade elementary school student from Izumi Ward, Sendai, who attended the event with his mother.

Kurato Hasegawa, chief of the cultural properties department at the board of education, said: “Many children were excited about the experiences. I hope they will remember what they learned at the event during their classes at school and on other occasions.”